Relief map base



Oct. 9, 1945.

T. W. DOMINICK RELIEF'` MAP BASE Filed July 11, 1944 WEET m;

Patented Oct. 9, 1945 4 l 2,386,199 f l RELIEF MAPBSE y 'Jjheodore Weston Dominick, United States Navy Application Jul ('Grantcd uider'thelract of" March 1883, as

l amendedlADIfl-SQ 1928; 757) b The presentinvention relates to; e relief mab ase.k l' Heretofore, relief mapshave consstedfof contour shapes cut from cardboard or, other material, Which either is of or :mistV be built upto the required thickness torepresentthescale ele-` vation. These shapes are. `celrlentedin Sequence and then` the' assembled shapesare coveredwith` a desired material to simulate afterrain'. v y.

This previousconstructon of relier mal? bases has proven unsatisfactory in'that excessivertime is required to out and cement together vthema tour shapes;` a large supply of material from which to out the various contour sl'iapes` must beA on hand, and in the maiorityof cases-there is small salvage .of material `after the base is no.' longer required, thus addingqtdthe eerst of come struction. v

My invention overeomssthe above unsatisfaa-vl tory conditions inthatuoy cumbersome supply of contours-shaping or oementina material is-neeesl sary, and wastage of material is reduced to a `minimum since the device is. adjustable to register any contour combinations and can be readily reset and changed to form other bases.'

The device consists of an adjustable fram holding a plurality of pins or rods of substantially equal size that 'are depressed by a suitable tool from the horizontal or datum level so that successive contours can be traced by the pins or rods in plane. All pins or rods within each contour perimeter and plane are adjusted equally so that accurate elevations or depressions may be formed. The pins or rods are firmly held in the desired contour shapes by adjustable lateral compression mechanisms bearing against the frame.

It is an object of the invention to provide a means for easily and quickly constructing relief maps for military training purposes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a means for making relief map bases, which ,means can be used repeatedly for making bases A a toposraphicalmapiin position from which to:

sponding parts throughout the various views,

rlis aplilrvew 0f the invention prior torv shapinsthemep contours.- il .A .I Fia `2VV is aplanyiew of the-inventionshowing resisterthe-relieffmal?, f v c n l Fig. 3 is a plan viewlshowing a completed reeisterprior to-the application oi a covering.

Figa is a sectionzonthe line 4wd of` Fis, 3, and fst 51s an enlarged plan Of-,a portion of-` the pins and holding frame-y Referring more particularlyv to'htl'ie"V drawing.

the relief map base is mounted ,in alsupport con- 1 sisting of threeside members I0; and legs H arranged at the fourhoorners to provide adequate` stabilitysior the support, `The legs, if desired, may be conventionally hinged so that they willfolcl alongside theV support-,proper Afor conservation of spaccia transportation; The map `baseitself consists of a'pivoted frame i2-and anfadiustable openpinner frame L3 for holding a plurality of Contour-Shapinspins orrods IA.;V .l f,

The frame I2 is pivotally mounted in the opposed side members of the support, as at the points I5, and is held in either one of two positions by fastening elements I6 engaging in suitable receptacles I1. The fastening elements are preferably secured to the support againstloss by hooks I8. The pins or rods are held in their frame in frictional engagement with one another by pressure applied against movable sides I9 of the inner frame I3 by screw clamps 20. The lengths and diameters of the pins or rods may vary in accordance with the `elevation requirements of the different areas to be reproduced, butthe dimensions of those to be used in preparing any one relief base should be substantially equal.

In use, the inner frame I3 is turned so that its under side is uppermost, as shown in Fig. 1, then a chart or map showing the topographic characteristics of the area to be reproduced inV relief is fastened in any desired manner to the frame as in Fig. 2, and the pins or rods are depressed by a suitable calibrated stylus or punch to the surface dened by the pins or rods, and permitted to harden; The article thus formed can be ornamented, if desired, to further simulate sions caused by moving the pins or rods to form the projections for the contours of the temporary relief map. After the compression members have been tightened to hold the pins orrods firmly in the desired position, a plaster or other suitable composition may be poured overr the de#n l pressed ends of the pins or rods and allowed tov harden. When suiiciently hardened thepins ory permanent'map that erence. A

It will be understood that the above descrip-L tion and accompanying drawing'comprehend: only the general and preferred embodimentof my in' vention and thatlvarious changesin Vdetails of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts -may be made without saricing any ofthe advantages of my invention.Vv v` `4 The invention described'herein may be man'ufactured and used by or for the Government YAof the United States 'of America for governmental purposes without the payment of `anyroyalties thereon or therefore.

What I claim is': A l; A device'for forming bases rfor relief maps, comprising va support, Va frame rotatable inthe support on an axis normal thereto,- a clamping i frame mounted in the rotatable fra rality of rods held within the clamping frame,v Y said rods beingsubstantially of equallength withf their opposite endjsurfaces initially formingHsub-'- stantially parallel planes,l and compressivemem-` bers operable upon the clamping frame:

may be used for future Vretme, a plu-'-v 2. A device for forming bases for reilef maps comprising a three sided support, a frame rotatably mounted in the support on an axis normal thereto, a clamping frame carried by the rotatclamping frame.

-A 3. -A device for forming bases for relief maps comprising a support, a clamping frame, a plurality of rods held Within said clamping frame, saidl rodsbeing of equal length and positioned initially `by said frame so that the opposite end surfacesof said rods form substantially parallel A v planes, "and means for mounting said clamping rods may be easily removed leaving amore or less f frame Aon said support for rotation on an axis normal to the longitudinal axis of the rods whereby the reverse 'side of the frame may be used asa mold for' making a permanent relief map. a Y

4'. A vdevice' ffor 'forming bases for relief` maps comprising a support,v a'frame carried by the support and rotatable on an' axis, normalthereto, a clamping` frame movable with'said rotatable frame, "a'plurality'of rodsheld within `the clamp-l ing frame, said rodsbeing substantially of equal length with their end surfaces initially -forming parallel plane's,'and means for'compressingthe clamping frame. l

5; A device for forming bases for relief maps comprising a support, a rotatable frame mountedY a within the support, al 'clamping frame carried by the rotatable framegga pluralityof rods held within the clamping'frame,"said rods having their end surfaces initially forming'subs'tantially parallel planes, and means for mounting saidrotatable frame on the support for movement on an` axis normal to the supportv whereby eithersurface formed by the rods'becomes a working area.

, THEODOREL WESTONPQMWICKJ 

